Breaking Down Bridges ▸ Hunger Games

Chapter Nine: Alia Fletson

Chapter Nine:

Alia's POV

I came to win, to fight,

To conquer, to thrive

I came to win, to survive,

To prosper, to rise

—Rihanna, "Fly"

Back in the Hunger Games... it all seemed so surreal. The rule was that once you were crowned a victor, you never returned to the arena again. Of course, any rule of the Games is insignificant this year. Anything goes when it comes to Quarter Quells.

With that thought in mind, I began to prepare myself for what I had before me. For one, Cato and I had much greater chances of winning than any of the other tributes. Besides the fact that we were extremely skilled and lethal Careers, we only won a few months ago.

To add to our preparation, we spent the train ride watching our fellow victors' years, to study their strengths and weaknesses.

Damian Winters could cause some serious damage with a spear. Alexis was skilled with hardly any weapons, only halfway decent with archery. I began to wonder if she lied about being a Career. However, she was extremely elusive and clever, evading danger at all costs. Crimson from District One was rather fast and average with spear throwing. Lysander could shoot arrows from fifty yards away with perfect aim. Calypso won on wit, persuading her year's Careers to let her join their alliance. Ivor, although he was intimidating in size, only had one skill: stabbing his opponents with knives. Since Zander from One was now a drug-addict, I figured he wouldn't be as bright as he used to be. Doe was the epitome of a weak tribute, flinching and shrieking and every noise she heard, shivering whenever she saw a weapon. Cyder was a bomb-making expert. And then, of course, there was Beetee, the genius. Zola, the District Five beauty with her porcelain skin, silky jet-black hair, and mint green eyes, used slingshots. Hunter was the type that could outrun anything. North, the notorious victor that flirted with every girl in his year, had cat-like reflexes. Flame, the extremely ditzy girl, was so stupid she accidentally blew up half the arena, killing off twenty tributes without even realizing it. Xanthias from District Six preferred dart guns over any other weapon. Cobalt killed off five tributes by smashing their heads in with a brick. Artemis was had fairly good aim when it came to throwing knives. Liliana was the kind of tribute that went around begging for useful alliances.

One tribute from District Seven called Sage caught my eye. She was darting through the arena, scratches covering her arms and legs, matted jet-black hair pulled up into a ponytail, blood gushing out of a cut on the left side of her face. Her grey eyes were glowing with determination as she picked up the pace; panting with each step she took. Sage was carrying a bloodstained axe in her right hand, as well. It seemed like a strange weapon until a nearby tribute came into the picture. She thrust the axe over her shoulder with little struggle, and the axe flew straight into the tribute's chest, signaling the last cannon of the Games. Sage sighed with relief and buried her face in her hands, waiting for the Capitol hovercraft to collect her and the other three victors. Of course, District Seven was lumber. She must have been chopping down trees by the time she could walk.

The other tributes from Seven, Charity, Colt, and Leo had no skill at all, just won off of luck.

Since District Eight was textiles, all four victors (Cassandra, Fleur, Mason, and Calix) knew how to kill with sharp pins. They rarely used them, however, because they sought a safe place to hide instead. Levana and Pandora from District Nine won based off of their keen knowledge of anything nature-related. I found that strange considering the fact that District Nine citizens were grain harvesters... Zephyr and Lauritz won the same year because they hid in the thick wheat fields the whole time. Osiris, a District Ten girl, knew a thing or two about poisonous animals... Emilia just had generous sponsors. Thor used a fork to stab a tribute in the eyes. Other than silverware, he was completely defenseless. Vander was rather smart and could evade almost any attack. Zinnia and Sawyer from District Eleven were slingshot experts. Clayton was an average knife thrower and Fern could climb trees.